Even Hindu Dharma is not registered’: Mohan Bhagwat on legal status of RSS

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while responding to a question about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s legal authenticity, and whether it remains unregistered by choice or to avoid legal obligations, said that ‘many things exist without registration, and even Hindu Dharma is not registered’. He made this statement during a question-and-answer session on the second day of the event “100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons” held in Bengaluru on Sunday. Bhagwat stated, “This question has been answered many times. Those who want to raise such questions keep repeating them, and we have to keep responding. This is not the first time this issue has been raised.” “The Sangh began in 1925. Do you expect us to have registered with the British government — the same government our Sarsanghchalak was fighting against?” he asked. After independence, he explained, the laws in independent Bharat (India) do not make registration compulsory. “The legal status is also granted to unregistered bodies of individuals. We are categorised as such and are a recognised organisation,” he underlined. Bhagwat further said, “The Income Tax Department once asked us to pay income tax, and there was litigation. The court ruled that we are a body of individuals, and our ‘Guru Dakshina (donations)’ were exempted from income tax.” “We were banned three times, which itself implies that the government recognises us. If we didn’t exist, whom did they ban? Each time, the courts dismissed the ban and reaffirmed that the RSS is a legal organisation,” he added.